ByCompiled from wire service reports by Robert Kilborn and Kristen Broman-WorthingtonNovember 26, 2003

If garbage cans could speak, what would they say? Well, as of next spring in Berlin, some of them will say "Danke" or "Thank you" or "Merci" to passers-by who properly dispose of waste. "We want to encourage people in a nice, funny way to throw their trash in [them] and not on the street," says Bernd Müller, spokesman for the German capital's trash-removal service. The chatty bins are solar-powered and are intended to work only during daylight hours. But that's probably for the best, according to Müller. "Some people," he thinks, "might feel uncomfortable if these things said something to them at night."

Celebrities rated as best at coaxing you to spend money

Actress Halle Berry (winner of an Academy Award in 2001 for her role in "Monster's Ball" and star of such other films as "Gothika" and "Die Another Day") is the celebrity whom most advertisers in the US want to endorse their products, according to a newly released survey by Burns Sports & Celebrity Service. It is Berry's second straight year as No. 1. The Chicago-based company, which specializes in endorsement contracts, polled 1,500 industry executives to compile its list. The 10 celebrities rated most marketable: